Metallic cabinet



June 13, 1933. PURNELL 1,914,041 a METALLI C CAB INET Filed July 22, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet l H N? S} Edwardull urnell,

June 13, 1933. E A, PUR'NQELL METALLIC CABINET 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 22, 1932 n W W r M w a M M Q E w x v Tl%\v w k% .N.

June 13, 1933. E. A. PURNELL METALLIC CABINET Filed July 22. 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented June 13, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EDWARD ALBERT P'URNELL, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GENERAL FIREPBOOFING COMPANY, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO rtE'rALLm CABINET Application filed July 22, 1932. Serial No. 624,106.

This invention relates to metallic furniture, and has generally in view to provide a cabinet or so-called secretary, embodying various novel and improved features of constructionand arrangement designed to render the same particularly handy and convenient as an article of furniture of general utility especially for home office use.

A special object of the invention is to provide a metallic cabinet which is attractive as an article of furniture to serve especially as a support for a typewriter, as a small writing table or desk and as a storage or filing case for pa ersand other articles, and which embodies afdesign affording relatively large conveniently usable storage or filing space in a compact construction, which is strong and v durable, and which, at the same time, is of relatively low production cost.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will become more fully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists-in the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like characters of reference denote corresponding parts in the different views Figure 1 is a front elevation of a metallic article of furniture constructed in accordance with one practical embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a view similar'to Fig. 1 showing drawer removed. L I

Figure 5 is a vertical section through the storage compartment spaces at one side of the cabinet. g

\ Figure 6 is a horizontal section on the line 66 of Fig. 5. 1

Figure 7 is an enlarged vertical section showing the manner of mounting and securing the door for one of the storage compartments of the cabinet.

F gure 8 is an enlarged detail-horizontal section showing the corner construction of the cabinet and the hinge mounting for the main door thereof.

F igure 9 is an enlarged detail horizontal section showing the manner of mounting the supporting legs of the cabinet.

Figure 10 is an enlarged vertical section through the main door of the cabinet showing the storage spaces and article retaining means thereof. I

Figure 11 is a detail view showing the mounting of the door operated drawer latch;

and

Figure 12 is a detail vertical section showing the drawer latch in position holding the drawer closed.

Referring in detail to the practical embodof the casing are formed from a single sheet of metal as best illustrated in Fig. 6 ofthe drawings, the sides at the front of the cabinet being directed first inwardly towards each other as at'15, thence rearwardly as at 16, again inwardly as at 17 and finally again rearwardly as at 18 to provide side stiffening columns at the front: of the cabinet defining the sides of the door opening and having shouldered recesses for the reception of the sides of the door designated generally as B.

The top 10 of the cabinet is pressed or otherwise formed into desired shape preferably from a single sheet of metal and rests upon the top edges of the sides 12 and the back 13.

and also upon a cross member 19 connecting the sides together at their front upper ends, the said cross member being spot welded or otherwise suitably secured to the sides 12, and

the top 10 being spot welded or otherwise suitably secured to the sides, the back and said cross member.

Suitably mounted within the cabinet a short distance below thetop 10 thereof as, for example, by having its front and rear portions welded or otherwise suitably secured to the cross member 19 and to the rear wall 13 of the cabinet, is a shelf or support 20 having suitably fixed to the top thereof a pair of spaced, parallel guide rails 21. Each guide rail is inclusive of atop portion 22 and a depending flange 23 spaced at its lower edge from the shelf or support 20, and on said guide rails is slidably mounted an extension slide or shelf 24 which is disposed normally in a concealed or inoperative position within the cabinet and which is adapted to be pulled through an opening in one side of the casing to an extended or operative position as illustrated in Fig. 1 for the support of a typewriter or for any other desired purpose. The slide rests at its bottom on the tops of the rails 21 and has depending side flanges 25 which, at their bottoms, are directed inwardly to underlie the depending flanges 23 of the guide rails. The slide thus is slidably interlocked with the guide rails whereby it is held firmly against sagging when in its extended position. In this connection, while the slide is illustrated in the present instance as being mounted for movement toan extended position through an opening in one of the sides 12 of the casing, it is manifest that the same may be mounted forv movement through an I opening in the cross member 19 to an extended position at the front of the cabinet.

Suitably mounted within the casing a suitable distance below the support 29 as, for example, by having its front portion welded or otherwise secured to the inwardly directed portions 18 of the sides 12 and its rear portion fastened to straps 12 suitably fixed to the said side walls, is a shelf or support 26 on which is slidably mounted a drawer 27 which is movable to open and closed positions through the open front of the cabinet, this drawer preferably extending the full width of the cabinet.

The bottom 11 of the cabinet is welded or otherwise suitably secured at its side and rear edges to the sides and the back of the easing and cooperates with the top 10, the cross member 19 and the shelf or support 26 in maintaining the rigid, rectangular form of the cabinet. In addition, the cabinet is further stiffened and reinforced by a vertical partition 28 which extends between the bottom 11 and the shelf or support 26 near one viding the space at the other side of said vertical partition into upper and lower compartments 33 and 34, respectively. Moreover, a vertical partition 35 extends between the partition 30 and the shelf or support 26 and divides the upper compartment 33 into front and rear sections as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and (S of the drawings. The front of the front section may either be open or it may be closed by a door of any suitable type. On the other hand, access to the. rear section is had only through an opening36 in the vertical partition 28 when a drawer 37 which is slidably received within the compartmentv 31 is entirely withdrawn from said compartment, since the side of the drawer prevents access to said rear section when the door is partment 32, and a door 39 is provided to close the front of the compartment 34, the construction and the mounting of said door constituting one of the novel features of the invention.

Referring particularly to Figs. 4 and 7 of the drawings, it will be observed that a horizontal shelf 40 is mounted below the horizontal partition 30 and that the front end portion of said shelf terminates in an upwardly extendingflange 41. It will also be observed that the door 39 carries upon its inner face, near its upper end, a rearwardly and downwardly extending flange 42 which engages the flange 41 and thereby serves as a means for hanging the door in its closed position and holding the top of the door against,

swinging outwardly. However, due to the flange 42 extending downwardly and rearwardly it obviously is possible to swing the lower portion of the door outwardly about the top of the flange 41 to a horizontal posi tion in which the door may be slid into the space between the shelves 26, 40, thus to dispose the door in an out of the way position when it is open.

At its bottom the door 39 is provided with an inwardly directed stiffening flange 43 having a recess 44 to receive a, spring pressed latch button 45 carried by the bottom 11 of the cabinet. Thus, when the door is pulled outwardly from the space between the shelves 30, 40 and is swung downwardly to a position closing the frontv of the compartment 34, the button 45 snaps into the recess 44 and latches the door in a closed position. The

door is devoid of any knob or projection on its front face which may be grasped to pull the door outwardly to an open position, but

A flange 16 of one of the sides 12 of the cabinetmounting and opening the door 39 would experience difliculty in opening the same, although said door may readily be opened by one familiar with the construction of the cabinet.

The main door B of the cabinet is hinged.

at one side, as at 47, to the rearwardly directed and is provided at its other side with a lock 48 of any suitable kind, preferably of the permutation type, whereby it may be secured in a closed position.

While the door B may be of any preferred construction, it preferably is constructed as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 10. That is to say, the door proper comprises a sheet metal plate having a marginal inwardly directed flange 49 which embraces a rectangular stiffening frame 50 of U-shaped section and which is welded or otherwise secured to said frame w eby a strong, rigid door assembly is provided.

Extending across the ,rearwardly opening space at the rear of the door defined by the surrounding frame 50 is a pair of sheet metal members each comprising a bottom wall 5 and a vertical wall 52 spacedv from the door plate and cooperating therewith toprovide a pair of vertically spaced, upwardlyopening pockets 53. Above each pocket a horizontal bar 54 and, if desired, a vertical bar 55 is secured at its ends to the frame 50 in rearwardly spaced relation to the door plate. Thus, convenient racks for the retention of papers, booklets or the like are provided on the inner side of the door.

The front ends of the partitions 28,29 and 30 are terminated suitably short of the front of the cabinet to permit the door B to be closed and to engage, when closed. the inwardly directed portions 17 of the side wa ls 12 and a correspondingly inwardly directed portion 56 of the bottom wall 11. I Thus. the door is firmly supported in its closed position.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of means whereby closing of the door B locks the drawer 27 closed. As will be observed by reference to Figs. 11 and 12 of the drawings the drawer 27 is provided at its bottom, near the front thereof. with a hollow transversely extending stiffening formation 57 in the bottom wall of which is formed an opening 58. It will also be observed that to the underside of the shelf 26 is fastened a bracket 59 to which is pivoted at an intermediate point, as at 60. a-lever 61 having an upwardly directed finger 62 which is projectible through an opening 63 in the shelf 26 into the opening 58 of the drawer 27 when said drawer is closed.

, N ormally' the lever 61 tends to gravitate to a position in which theupper end of the finger 62 is disposed flush with or below the shelf 26, in which position the inner end of the lever engages the under side of said shelf and prevents further downward movement of the finger 62. The lower, forward end portion of the lever is rounded and is disposed tobe engaged by the top of the door B and to be lifted by said door when the 'same is closed. Thus, when the door B is open, the lever gravitates to its lower position and the finger 62 is disengaged from the opening 58 whereby the drawer 27 is free to be opened and closed. On the other hand, when the drawer 27 is closed and thedoor B is swung closed, the top of the door engages and lifts the lever and thereby projects he finger 62 into the opening 58 and locks the drawer closed. I A

As illustrated in Fig. 9 of the drawings the legs 14 of the cabinet are fastened by screws 64 to corner plates 65 which are welded or otherwise secured tothe bottom of the cabinet, each plate having a recess 66 receiving a lug 67 on the top of the related leg 14 whereby the legv is held against rotation.

lVithout further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will of course beunderstood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim 1. In a cabinet of the character described, side walls, a vertical partition between said side walls extending substantially from the front to the back of the cabinet and cooperating with said walls to form separate compartments. a partition at right angles to said first named partition extendinsrgbetween the latter and one of the side walls at a point spaced inwardly from the front of the cabinet and dividing one of said compartments into front and rear sections, a drawer slidably mounted in the other compartment, the first mentioned partition fully closing the inner side of the front compartment section and having an opening disposed rearwardly of the right 'angularly extending partition affording access to the rear section of the first mentioned compartment when the drawer is removed. the drawer preventing access to said rear section through the opening in said partition as long as the, drawer is entirely or partly disposed within itscompartment.

2. In a cabinet of the'character described, a compartment open at its front, a door hung at its top for outward swinging movement at its bottom to an open position, frictional door Wall of the cabinet and masked by said downlatching means, the compartment having a bottomwall and said bottom wall having a finger accommodating opening therein to permit finger pressure to be exerted outwardly against the door at the bottom thereof to release said frictional latching means.

3. In a cabinet of the character described, side walls, a vertical partition between said side walls extending substantially from the front to the back of the cabinet and cooperating with said side walls to form separate compartments, a horizontal partition between said vertical partition and one of the side walls extending substantially from the front to the back of the cabinet and dividing the related compartment into upper and lower sub-compartments, a transverse partition within at least one of said sub-compartments at a point spaced rearwardly of the front of the cabinet dividing said sub-comparment into front and rear sections, the front section being open at its front, and a drawer slidably mounted in the other compartment, the vertical partition having an opening therein affording access to the rear section of said sub-compartment when the drawer is removed.

4. In a cabinet of the character described, side walls, a vertical partition between said side walls extending substantially from the front to the back of the cabinet and co-operating with said side walls to form separate compartments, a horizontal partition between said vertical partition and one of the side walls extending substantially'from the front to the back of the cabinet and dividing the related compartment into upper and lower sub-compartments, a transverse partition within the upper sub-compartment dividing the same into front and rear sections, the front section being open at its front and being of a length apparently corresponding to the front and back depth of the cabinet when casually observed from the front of the cabinet, and a drawer slidably mounted in the other compartment, the vertical partition completely closing the inner side of said front section and having an opening therein affording access to the rear. section when the drawer is removed.

5. In a cabinet, the combination of a main outer door, means within the 'cabinetforming a safe compartment opening at its front, an inner door mounted for movement between open and closed positions with reference to the front of the safe compartment and having no visible means of operation when the main outer door is opened to expose the same, a bottom wall for the cabinet including a downwardly directed panel portion exposed at the face of the cabinet, and manually actuated keeper means, concealed when'the inner door is closed for holding the same in closed position, said means carried by the bottom wardly directed panel portion, and also accessible from beneath the cabinet.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

EDWARD ALBERT PURNELL. 

